Quarantined
by Riley Bernard
Summary: Another story in my quest to fill the void that are happy JJ and Will fics. Same characters that have appeared in my other stories. JJ interacts mainly with Luke, while Will interacts mainly with Henry and Julia. Luke is sick. JJ takes care of him
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again. This is my first multi-chapter endeavor into filling the void that are JJ and Will fics. Same AU that I have used in my other stories, JJ and Will, along with Henry, have twins Luke & Julia. Also Emily and Mick have 2 boys, Colin and Matthew. Had to get Emily in here given the GREAT news that she is coming back. They play minimally in this first chapter but they come about later on. I hope you enjoy.**

JJ was sitting at her desk, surrounded by mountains of case files – but what else was new. She had been in the office since 8, around 3 hours when her phone chirped.

"Agent Jareau" she clipped briskly.

"Hello Agent Jareau this is Courtney from the FBI Quantico Child Care Centre."

JJ, who had been reading a file while answering the phone, quickly dropped it and gave the phone call her full attention. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Oh, yes everything's fine. It just seems that Luke has come down with the something. He's running a pretty high fever."

"Oh no" JJ said, "He seemed fine this morning"

"Well you know how these things can be" Courtney sympathized. And JJ did know, she swore that one minute her kids were the picture of health and the next they were beyond sick. But she knew that this was mainly because they weren't complainers. They'd wait until they were so sick they couldn't function before telling her that anything was wrong. She'd never understand that.

"And you're familiar with our policy on sick children?" Courtney continued and JJ replied,

'Yes of course. I wouldn't want him to get anyone else sick. I'll be right over to pick him up."

"Great, thanks Agent Jareau."

JJ ended the call and exited her office, thankful, not for the first time that there was a daycare on site at the FBI headquarters. She took the elevator down a few stories and exited on the second floor, making her way to the back. She pulled open the double doors and into the little reception area. A young woman greeted her.

"Hi, I'm Agent Jareau, I'm here to pick up my son."

"Hi Agent Jareau, I'm Courtney, I'm the one who phoned you."

"Oh hi."

"Luke is just here in the nurse's office." Courtney said, opening a door to the right. JJ entered to find her 3 year old son curled up on a little cot. The nurse was filling out some paperwork at her desk a few feet away. JJ perched on the cot and smoothed her hand over Luke's dark hair. Luke's blue green eyes that were identical to Will's flitted open to find hers.

"Hey buddy." JJ soothed, running her hand over his forehead. His skin felt hot under touch. "Not feeling good?"

Luke nodded. He sat up and extended his arms. JJ picked him up and Luke rested his head on her shoulder.

"He had a fever of 101.8 when I last took it about 10 minutes ago. I gave him some children's Tylenol. He can have some again in 4 hours." The nurse said softly showing JJ the bottle.

JJ nodded. She glanced out of the window in the nurse's office to see the other kids playing. She caught sight of her daughter Julia, Luke's twin, sitting around a table with 2 other little girls drinking 'tea'.

The nurse followed JJ's gaze and asked, "He has a sister here too right?"

"Yeah," JJ nodded looking back to Luke who seemed to be falling back to sleep in her arms. "I've got some stuff to finish up before we go home so I'll leave her here for a bit and then come back."

"Sure" the nurse nodded. "You'll just need to sign him out with Courtney before you leave."

JJ nodded. "Let's go Luke." She exited the room, stopping at the desk, signing him out on her way.

JJ made her way back to her office, Luke fast asleep in her arms. She laid him gingerly onto her desk chair. He curled up and fit easily on the seat. His body still felt warm, but JJ covered him with her jacket anyways. She hurried around the room, gathering papers and files she needed, stuffing them into her bag. She made two hushed phone calls and was ready to leave. She took her jacket back from Luke who was still sleeping soundly and pulled it on. She grabbed Luke's jacket off the desk where she had set it after grabbing it from his cubby on the way out. She gently slid him into it and stuffed his hat into her bag. Picking up her bag and then Luke, JJ left her office. She made her way to Hotch's office to let him know she would be working from home for the rest of the day. She knocked and entered, feeling Luke stir in her arms. Inside JJ found Hotch and Emily going over some papers. They looked up in surprise to see Luke with JJ.

"He's sick" she offered and Hotch nodded.

"You're headed home then?" he asked.

JJ nodded. "I have my phone, of course, if you need me."

Hotch shook his head. "We'll be fine. You just feel better buddy." Hotch said to Luke and JJ smiled. Luke looked directly at Hotch but said nothing. He made no attempt to even lift his head from JJ's shoulder.

"Aw, Sweetie." Emily cooed. "Are you taking Julia with you too?" she asked.

"Yeah we're headed to go get her now."

"Do you want me to take her?" Emily asked, "I can take her home with me when I pick up Matthew there later. Save you having to watch her while taking care of Luke. I can drop her off later?"

"Emily I could kiss you. Thank you, God that'd be great. And so much better for Jules than having to play by herself at home, because she and Henry are not getting anywhere near you." She added to Luke.

"Yeah, one sick kid is enough." Emily added. "Hey, actually, when I pick up Colin from school I can grab Henry for you too. Save Luke having to go for another car ride when he's sick."

"Seriously, Emily, you are my favourite person." JJ beamed. "Thank you, I will owe you so big."

"Hey, no problem."

"I'll just give them a call at the daycare, let them know that Julia is going with you, and call the school to do the same for Henry."

"Sounds good." Emily said, "Feel better pal," she added as JJ left the room.

JJ made a call to the daycare and the school from the car while Luke dozed in his car seat. Pulling into their driveway, JJ parked the car and killed the engine. She gathered her belongings in one arm and took Luke in the other. He woke up and hugged her, putting his arms around her neck and resting his head on her shoulder.

"I know Sweetie" JJ soothed as she dropped her stuff in the front hall. She used both arms to support him now as she carried Luke upstairs to his room. "Pajamas?" She asked and Luke nodded.

JJ changed Luke into his pajamas. She tucked him into his bed before heading to the bathroom for supplies. She came back with an ear thermometer.

"Let's see if that Tylenol's working bud." A few seconds later JJ was met with a reading of 101.5. "Maybe a little bit. We've gotta wait before you can have more though Hun." JJ left again and returned with a cool cloth. She wiped Luke's forehead and face. He closed his eyes and murmured.

"Feels good Mommy"

JJ smiled and continued to wipe his face until the cloth had warmed up. She set it aside before pressing a kiss to a once again sleeping Luke's forehead. She turned out the light in his room, but left the door open.

Leaving Luke's room, JJ headed to her own bedroom to change, figuring if she was going to be home all day she might as well be comfortable. She pulled on black yoga pants and a grey zip up hoodie before heading downstairs. Once downstairs, JJ decided to work on the couch. She set up with her phone, her case files and paperwork. She went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, but at the last minute decided she was actually in more of a tea mood.

JJ sat, curled up on the couch with her tea and case files for around half an hour before she heard a soft padding on the stairs. She looked up to see Luke, rubbing his face in the doorway of the living room.

"Hi Sweetie" JJ said, setting down the file she had been reading.

Luke took in the paper surrounding his mom and softly asked, "Are you working?"

JJ smiled. Her kids knew not to interrupt Mommy when she was working. JJ had made that very clear, given the types of files she often had to examine, the last thing she wanted was for one of her kids to come across a photo of something they shouldn't see. For that same reason JJ was always extremely careful to never leave a file lying around.

"Not anymore." JJ replied, closing the file and putting the whole pile of them away in her bag. "Are you hungry babe?" She asked, noting that it was 12:15. Luke shook his head. "You need to eat to get better Sweetie. Do you want some soup?" Luke shook his head. "A banana?" Luke shook his head again. "Applesauce?" JJ tried again.

"No Mommy" Luke answered. JJ rose off the couch and picked Luke up. She walked with him towards the kitchen.

"Okay" she conceded, "Just something to drink then." Luke shook his head. "Oh buddy you have to drink. You won't feel better unless you do. How 'bout some apple juice?

"No."

"A popsicle?" JJ suggested

"No Mommy."

JJ ran her hand over Luke's hair and kissed his forehead. If Luke was refusing a popsicle he had to be feeling really rotten. JJ grabbed Luke's favourite cup down from the cupboard and poured in some apple juice and water.

"No. No, no." Luke said. He shook his head and buried his face in JJ's neck. His forehead felt hot against her skin. JJ set him down on the counter and placed her hand against his forehead.

"It's been an hour and a half. You should not be this warm." JJ said, sounding concerned.

Luke ignored her comment, staying on point with what he thought really mattered. "No juice." He repeated.

JJ picked Luke back up and left the cup on the counter. She could tell he was smiling, feeling victorious. They entered the bathroom and JJ set Luke on the counter. She grabbed the thermometer and held it to his ear. It presented a reading of 102.4.

"Luke, that's too high." JJ muttered. She turned and rooted around in the medicine cabinet for a few seconds before emerging with some Children's Motrin. She brought Luke and the medicine back down to the kitchen and grabbed a spoon. Pouring out the dosage, JJ held the spoon out to Luke. He shook his head.

"Ah, No, sorry buddy, but your fever is way too high. It's this or we're going to the hospital." _If this doesn't bring it down we're going to the hospital anyways_, JJ thought to herself. Luke relented and opened his mouth. JJ popped in the medicine which he swallowed before making a grim face. JJ handed him the cup of watered down juice. Luke swallowed a little bit before setting the cup down beside him.

"No juice." He muttered crossly. JJ sighed. She knew that he was being stubborn now because he was cranky from feeling sick. Although she knew that the fact that he was still willing to fight with her was a good sign. If he became submissive she would be far more concerned. Knowing Luke needed to stay hydrated JJ opened a drawer and pulled out a travel sippy cup. She and Will had weaned Luke and Julia off of sippy cups a few months ago, but she kept a few around for long car rides. JJ transferred Luke's juice into the sippy cup and screwed on the lid. She extended the sippy cup to Luke. She watched as Luke was torn between wanting the cup and his desire to stay stubborn.

"Please Sweetie" JJ pleaded. Luke took the cup and popped it in his mouth. JJ picked him up and hugged him close. "Good boy" she smiled into his hair. "Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked, making her way to the living room and settling him on the couch. Luke nodded. "What do you want to watch?"

"Scooby" Luke answered.

"Which one?" JJ asked, surveying their rather large collection of Scooby-Doo movies. He was hands down Luke and Henry's favourite and Julia liked him too.

"Will you watch it with me Mommy?" Luke asked

"Of course Sweetheart."

"You pick," he said. JJ smiled and selected _Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders_. "Good choice Mommy" Luke smiled.

JJ popped in the DVD and curled up with Luke on the couch. 40 minutes later Luke was asleep with his head in her lap and JJ switched off the television. She looked to the paperwork sitting on the coffee table, but reached for her phone instead. She hit her first speed dial.

"Hi Cher" she heard Will's voice when he picked up.

"Hey" JJ said softly to not wake Luke.

"What's up?"

"I'm at home with Luke. He's sick"

"Oh no what's wrong?"

"Just a really high fever so far." She ran her hand over his forehead and it felt cooler than before. "The medicine's working. He's asleep in my lap."

"Poor thing. How're the others?"

"Jules was fine when I left her at daycare and the school hasn't called to say Henry's sick."

"Jules is still at daycare?"

"Yeah I thought she'd have more fun there than stuck at home with us. Emily is taking her when she picks up Matthew. She's gonna grab Henry from school too when she picks up Colin. I would prefer to keep them as segregated as possible from Luke."

"Yeah I hear ya" Will replied and she knew they were both remembering 2 years ago when the twins were 1 and Henry was 4 and all three of them had become extremely sick. She knew it was an experience neither of them ever wanted to repeat. "I can pick them up from Emily's on my way home. Save her a trip." Will offered.

"That'd be great." JJ said, "I'll let her know."

"Okay. Kiss Luke for me"

"I will" JJ smiled and ended the call. She placed a quick call to Emily, thanking her again and letting her know that Will would pick the kids up from her place, which was fine with Emily. She looked again to the paperwork, leaving the case files in her bag in case Luke woke up she pulled some papers towards her, and settled in for the afternoon.

**Thanks for making it to the end Reviews are adored and extremely appreciated but of course, not required. Cheers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so chapter 2 is here. There are a few things that I have in my "world". Emily is with Mick, they have 2 boys, Colin & Matthew. Also Hailey never died, and never left Hotch. They had 2 more boys, Nathan & Benjamin after Jack. The rest should be explained in the chapter but if I made any leaps that makes no sense, let me know and I will be happy to clarify where my head was at. This chapter in fairly Emily centric, but I am just so thrilled that she is coming back that I couldn't help myself. Happy reading.**

Emily looked to the clock at the bottom of her computer screen. It was flashing 2:00, her favourite time of day. It had taken some fancy paperwork by JJ, but she had fixed it so that when they did not have a case, BAU team members could leave at 2:00pm because of the amount of hours they logged while away on cases. The day JJ had pulled off that feat Emily and the team had truly recognized JJ's ability to make all things bureaucratic work for her. This magnificent feat meant that they were the envy of every other department, but also that BAU team members with children, Hotch, JJ, Emily and Garcia could pick their kids up from school. (Garcia would have to wait a few years to reap that particular reward, but she still appreciated being able to get home to her son sooner.)

Emily shut down everything she was working on, noting Morgan and Reid doing the same. Bidding a quick farewell to her friends Emily hopped into the elevator and headed down to the 2nd floor. She made her way to the daycare centre, warmly greeting the young woman in the reception area.

"I'm here to pick up my son and my god-daughter" Emily smiled brightly.

"Okie dokie, names?" asked the young woman.

"Matthew Rawson and Julia LaMontagne"

"Okay, I have a note here saying Julia would be picked up by Agent Emily Prentiss. I just need to see your ID and they're all yours."

Emily flashed her photo credentials.

"Thank you kindly. You can head on back."

Emily made her way into the main room. When Matthew saw her, he ran over.

"Mama!" he cried, hugging her. "Look what I made!" he declared proudly, showing his mother the "collage" of magazine cut outs, construction paper, pompoms, stickers and glitter. Emily beamed. Matthew was at a stage where he loved gluing. He was happy to glue anything. Anything.

"It's beautiful Matthew" Emily praised and Matthew beamed back at her.

"It's for you."

"For me? Oh, I love it! Where should I put it?"

"Umm.. On the fridge!" Matthew proclaimed, his face lighting up at his idea.

"Perfect," smiled Emily, kissing Matthew's cheek. She saw Julia, playing with a few other kids and called to her. Julia bounced over.

"Hi Auntie Emily," she smiled.

"Hey Jules. Guess what? You get to come home with us today."

"How come?" she asked, and Emily was pleased to note that she didn't sound disappointed, simply curious.

"Well since Luke is sick, your mom and I thought you would have more fun staying here, and then coming to my house instead of just sitting around at home while your mom takes care of Luke."

Julia nodded wisely. "This is better," she agreed.

Emily stifled a laugh at Julia's seriousness, instead saying, "Let's get your coats."

The kids ran away to their cubbies, pulling out their belongings. They were both able to pull their coats on unassisted, but Emily needed to help Matthew with the zipper on his, and Julia with the buttons on hers. Tugging the zipper together on Matthew's red and white letterman jacket Emily commented, "This is getting too small Buddy. Maybe you'll get a new one for your birthday next week."

"Mama, I don't want clothes for my birthday." Matthew said seriously.

"You don't? What do you want?"

Matthew thought for a moment before responding, "A dinosaur and an ice cream machine."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. She thought those sounded like excellent birthday requests. She turned to do the buttons on Julia's green pea-coat while asking,

"Do you know how old you'll be?"

"3!" Matthew proclaimed proudly.

"I'm 3!" Julia said happily.

"That's right. You guys are only about 3 and a half months apart." Emily replied. However with Luke and Julia born in December and Matthew born in April they would be in different grades at school. Emily didn't mind that though. Being born in December, JJ would have to send Julia and Luke to school when they were still 3. (Unless she held them back a year but Emily knew she wouldn't. They were bright and they would be ready. Plus Henry who was born in November had also gone to school at age 3.) Emily would get to keep Matthew at home with her until he was 4.

"Auntie Emily will you help me with my hat?" Julia asked, handing Emily the floppy white beanie.

"Sure Sweetie." Emily said, adjusting the hat so it flopped stylishly off to the side. The day Garcia had realized that Julia liked clothes had been one of the happiest of the technical analyst's life. Their little family was filled with boys; Emily and Mick had 2, JJ and Will had 2, Hotch and Hailey had 3 and now Garcia and Kevin had 1, so Garcia adored using Julia as her own personal little doll. Once she had realized that Julia loved it too there had been no stopping her. And given that both Emily and Hailey occasionally indulged their whim for cute little girl's clothes that they had no use for themselves, JJ had been forced to put a limit on the amount of clothes Julia was given a month. Emily laughed, remembering that conversation.

"_Penelope, this is ridiculous, Julia does not need another sundress. This is the 4__th__ one you've bought her this month."_

"_But it's summer! And sundresses are practical."_

"_It's August. She'll wear it for like 2 weeks and then never again."_

"_You don't know that. Maybe it will still fit next year."_

"_Penelope. She's two. They grow like weeds at this age. It will not fit and you know it."_

"_No, Julia's smaller than Luke. She might stay small and it could still fit."_

"_That is ridiculous. It's also not the point. The point is you've got to stop buying her clothes all the time."_

"_I can't! They are so adorable and they just call to me! It's not fair. When I see cool boy stuff I can spread it around; something for Henry, something for Jack, something for Matthew. I've only got 1 girl to dote on!"_

"_You're proving my point. You're buying Julia 7 kids worth of presents. She's just one tiny person Pen."_

"_But it's not really just for Jules. Everything I get her can be used as hand-me-downs for the baby!" Penelope cried, gesturing to her stomach._

"_You can't go 15 minutes without buying clothes for one of the kids, your child will never even touch a hand-me-down. Besides, you don't even know if you're having a girl or a boy."_

"_Oh come on! After 7 pregnancies we have 7 boys and 1 girl. There has not been a single pregnancy that did not result in a boy. We're due for a girl. Seriously. What are the odds that I would have _another_ boy?"_

"_Don't let Reid hear you say that." Emily interrupted. _

"_Oh, don't worry, I won't."_

"_You're probably right. It's probably a girl. But that doesn't matter. I'm still saying no more presents."_

"_Be realistic Jayje, she can't quit cold turkey." Emily offered and JJ shot her a look._

"_Fine. One present a month."_

"_Be reasonable," Garcia countered, "I'll drop it to one a week."_

"_No! I'm stopping it at one. You bring me any more and I'm dropping them off at Good Will._

"_No! But I want to see my angel-nose in them! Every other week?"_

"_No."_

"_But that's only two a month! And we can lower it to one a month later on I swear!" _

"_Ugh, fine. But I'm serious about this limit Penelope!"_

JJ really had been serious, but Penelope was nothing if not resourceful. If she reached her limit, she would give the presents to Emily, getting Emily to play the god-mother card that allowed her to deliver unlimited gifts. JJ wasn't stupid, and she knew what Garcia was doing, but she also saw how much Julia loved it. Julia would go to her room and change her clothes throughout the day, twirling around in her dresses and thoughtfully choosing what she wore everyday. When Garcia had beaten the odds (Reid had given them specifics but Emily couldn't remember his figures) and given birth to Damon, Julia had become outnumbered 8 to 1. Emily knew JJ couldn't bring herself to take away Julia's one feminine outlet – her love of clothes.

They made their way to the car, each child holding one of Emily's hands. When they stopped at Emily's Lexus, she surveyed the situation. She hadn't taken JJ's car seats that morning, so she would have to make do. Matthew and Julia, being the smallest, could use the two car seats she did have, and Colin and Henry would be fine without for the 15-minute car ride from the school to her home. Despite being a few months older, Julia was markedly smaller than Matthew, and so it would do her no good to sit in Colin's seat.

"Matthew, would you sit in Colin's seat while Julia sits in yours please?" Emily asked.

"But Mama, I like my seat."

"I know you do Monkey, but Julia is too small to sit in Colin's seat and I need you guys to be safe."

Matthew sighed at the great sacrifice he was making, "Okay."

"Thank you"

Emily strapped the kids in safely before hopping into the driver's seat. She realized she was going to have to go through the same thing with Colin, because both of her boys were weirdly possessive about their car seats. She couldn't say she understood that. They drove the 10 minutes to the school amicably, with both Matthew and Julia telling her about their days. Arriving at the school, Emily parked the car, helped the kids out of the car, and headed over to the after school pick-up area. Matthew and Julia happily ran ahead of her, knowing the way as they came to pick up their brother's almost every day. School let out at 2:15, and it was around twenty after now, so kids were just starting to trickle out to the pick-up area. Emily spotted Colin with his kindergarten class first. He walked over to them, hugged Emily and greeted Matthew and Julia. A few moments later Emily spotted Henry in his Dallas Cowboys baseball cap that JJ so detested, and waved him over.

"Hey Buddy. You're coming home with us today." Emily smiled.

"Okay" Henry answered happily. Emily thought Henry looked more like JJ than Will (his eyes were Will's, but his hair was sandy and his smile was JJ's) but his personality was all Will. He was the most easy-going kid she had ever met. At the car, Emily went through the seating arrangements again. She turned off the airbag and sat Henry in the front, Julia in Matthew's seat, Matthew in Colin's seat, and Colin seated in-between the two. He did not seem pleased but he said nothing. Emily suspected that this was because Henry was there. Henry, being two years older, was a sort of big brother figure for Colin, who never wanted to seem uncool around Henry. To Henry's credit, he was always very happy to play with Colin, so it worked out well. The drive home had Henry and Colin recounting their days, and by the time they arrived at Emily's house, Colin had all but forgotten his displeasure with the loss of his car seat.

Once home, the kids dropped their things and headed off to the playroom. Emily headed to the kitchen to make a snack. 20 minutes later, Emily had everything set up and she went to retrieve the kids. She found them divided between two corners, Henry and Colin in one corner, Matthew and Julia in the other.

"Hey guys, snack's ready."

Heading to the kitchen, the kids clambered onto the chairs and dug into the apple slices and bananas dipped in peanut butter and crackers with cheese – or rather, the boys ate this, Julia ate everything plain. Her apples and banana without peanut butter, and when the boys made little sandwiches with their crackers and cheese, she ate the pieces separately.

"I think we can have a treat guys," Emily offered, watching them eat, "Who wants chocolate milk?"

The hands of Henry, Colin and Matthew shot into the air and Emily laughed, grabbing the milk from the fridge, and cups from the cupboard. She poured and distributed the milk to the boys.

"Jules, you don't want any?" Emily asked. She already knew the answer, as Julia wasn't really a picky eater per se, she just preferred all of her food plain. Vanilla ice cream, nothing on a hotdog and she ate everything separately. JJ was trying to persuade her to try new things and had asked everyone to aid her in this endeavor.

"No thanks. Can I just have white milk?" Julia replied.

"Of course you can sweetie. But are you sure you don't want to try the chocolate? It's really good."

"No thanks." Julia replied, returning to her slices of banana while Emily poured her plain milk.

When the kids had finished, they dutifully carried their plates and cups and set them on the counter above the dishwasher. Emily thanked them and proceeded to finish the clean up. As the kids headed back to the playroom Emily heard a knock at the door. She wiped her hands and made her way to the door, opening it to find Will.

"Hey" she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Emily" Will drawled in the accent Emily had once found slightly annoying. She had come to actually like it over the years however, and she couldn't deny that a Cajun drawl suited Will's personality.

"C'mon in." Emily pushed to door open further and Will followed her inside, shutting the door behind himself. They set off to the playroom. Emily opened the door to find the all four kids playing together. They dropped their toys and ran towards them with shouts of "Daddy" and "Uncle Will"!

"You guys ready to go?" Will asked after hugging all four kids. "We gotta go home an' help your mama take care of Luke"

Henry and Julia nodded. They gathered their things and Will helped them get their coats and shoes on.

"Thanks again Emily," he said.

"Oh, don't mention it. I'm always happy to have them."

"Well thank you anyways." Will replied.

Emily knelt and hugged Henry and Julia good-bye. She watched as they skipped off to Will's car and waved as they pulled out of the driveway.

**So the next chapter will be just JJ, Will, Henry, Luke and Julia at home. It should be out within the week. Thanks for reading. Reviews make my day **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay – So months later I FINALLY get this written. I hit a patch of writer's block where I didn't know where I wanted to go with this story. But it's on track again.**

Will, Julia and Henry pulled up in their driveway. As Will helped the kids out of the car he said,

"We gotta be quiet when we go inside guys, in case Luke is sleepin'."

Henry and Julia nodded in agreement, and Will had to fight back laughter as they dramatically tiptoed through the front door in a manner Will guessed they had learned from a carton cat burglar.

Will walked into the living room to find JJ and Luke curled up on the couch under a blanket. Luke was sleeping with his head in JJ's lap. JJ was reading through some paperwork while absently playing with Luke's hair. She looked up from her papers when he entered and she quietly tossed them onto the coffee table.

"Hey," JJ greeted softly as Will leaned over to kiss her. Her skin felt warm after spending the day snuggled up with Luke. He sat on the couch at Luke's feet, reaching up to run his hand gently over his son's forehead.

"How you guys doin'?" Will asked.

"We're good. He's been asleep for a few hours. Once the medicine kicked in he was out. He wouldn't eat before but he might be hungry when he wakes up."

Will nodded. "And you?" he asked, "How're you doin'?"

"I'm good. He's been asleep most of the afternoon so I got some work done. It's actually kind of nice, sitting here with him. He's so warm, he kept me nice and toasty all day."

Will smiled, "Do you want to wake him up? I would hate for him to be up all night."

JJ thought for a second before replying, "I think he'll sleep. The medicine knocked him right out. Plus he'll be a bear if we wake him up now."

"A bear!" Will said dramatically, speaking to his sleeping son. "Your mama thinks you'll be a bear! You know she's right. You are the grumpiest boy when you wake up."

JJ smiled, "Do you want to put him in his room?" She asked, shifting her body under Luke, "We can wake him up later when dinner is ready and try to get him to eat."

"Sounds fun." Will said, lifting Luke from the couch. With his free hand he touched his finger to his nose and said "Not it." JJ laughed and playfully smacked him in the leg. As Will turned to leave he added, "They're in the kitchen bein' quiet so they don't wake Luke. But it's been almost 3 whole minutes so Jules is probably just about ready to explode."

JJ smiled knowingly at Will's prediction and followed him from the living room. He turned to head up the stairs as JJ made her way to the kitchen. Inside she found Henry and Julia unpacking their backpacks. Upon seeing JJ enter, Julia completely forgot about her sleeping brother and cried

"Mommy!" dropping her bag and running to hug her. JJ crouched to catch Julia in her arms as she gave her a hug and a kiss. Julia bounced out of JJ's arms and began prattling off the events of her day at such a rapid pace that JJ had no idea what she was saying. Apparently being silent for 3 whole minutes had bottled up a lot of energy in her daughter and it was all spilling over now. As JJ stood up she felt a head rush hit her. She put a hand on the counter to steady herself. When the head rush was over she wondered absently if it came from standing up too fast or from the volume of words flowing from Julia.

JJ touched Henry's shoulder in greeting and waited to see if today was one of the days when her 6 year old was too cool to hug his mom. These days were infrequent, but the fact that they happened at all drove JJ nuts. In her opinion she should be able to smother her baby with hugs and kisses as much as she wanted, and she definitely hadn't expected this attitude to appear in first grade. She had hoped for a few more good years. Henry turned to JJ and opened his arms for a hug, much to JJ's relief.

"Hi Mom"

As JJ let go of Henry she felt a throbbing pain starting in her forehead and realized that Julia was still talking. "Jules, sweetie, you need to slow down. Mommy didn't get any of that."

"Oh." Julia said, undeterred, "Today…" she began her recounting at a slower pace, but as JJ listened to her daughter she realized her headache wasn't going away. At a break in Julia's story JJ asked,  
>"Can you guys help me with supper?"<p>

"What are we having?" Henry asked.

JJ thought about what she would be able to entice Luke into eating, "How about we have breakfast for supper?" Eggs had been Luke's favourite food since he was a baby.

"Cool!" Henry smiled.

"Would you two set the table please?" JJ asked, as she started grabbing things she would need for their breakfast/dinner. As Henry and Julia set the table, JJ started bacon and eggs on the stove. As she cooked, JJ wiped her forehead. She was finding it extremely hot to stand over the stove and realized that she was sweating. When Will entered the kitchen she extended the lifter to him. "Can you take over here?" she asked. She had no idea why she was suddenly so warm, but standing over the stove was killing her. As JJ moved to start on the toast, Julia dropped a fork on the floor. JJ's head throbbed again and she pinched the bridge of her nose. Finding that she was still sweating a sudden realization hit JJ. _"God no. I cannot be catching what Luke has." _Placing the thought firmly out of her mind, JJ decided that if she did not think about how she was feeling, perhaps it would just go away. When dinner was almost ready, JJ left the kitchen to retrieve Luke. She found him still sleeping in his bed, but his eyes fluttered open when she sat down beside him. JJ kissed his forehead. It felt hot and damp. Pushing her hand against his forehead she muttered "Buddy you are really hot." Luke shook his head,

"No Mommy, I'm cold." He whispered, pulling at his blanket where it had slipped down.

"You're cold? Luke…" JJ ran her hand through his hair and found that it too was damp. She touched his back and found that his shirt was stuck to him with sweat. With her hand pressed against him, she felt his body shudder and he repeated,

"I'm cold Mommy."

"Okay baby" JJ replied, tucking the blanket tightly around him, "I'll be right back." JJ again retrieved the thermometer and returned to Luke's room. Taking his temperature, she started "104? Luke, how did that get so high so fast?" Luke leaned his head against her as if to say _"I have no idea"_ and JJ wrapped her arms around him. She sat with him for a minute before leaving to get more medicine and to refill his sippy cup. When she returned, Luke complaisantly accepted the medicine, and then the water as she handed them to him in turn. The fact that he was no longer fighting with her worried JJ a great deal.

Rubbing his back she quietly said, "Luke, hun, your pyjamas are all wet. You're sweating. We need to take these wet clothes off." JJ rose from his bed and went to his closet, "Are you still cold?" she asked. Luke nodded. Knowing that the chills Luke was feeling would pass and eventually he would feel hot again, JJ selected loose fitting clothing that she could layer, allowing Luke to be able to adjust himself. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and Luke's favourite sweater. Will had bought Luke the Dallas Cowboys sweater so that Luke could be like his dad and big brother. JJ hated the stupid thing, but Luke adored it and she hoped it might help him feel a little better. Returning to Luke with the clothes, she watched as Luke raised his arms over his head so that JJ could dress him. This too bothered her, as all 3 of her kids were always fiercely independent. Normally Luke absolutely refused help in getting dressed and often went around with his clothing on backwards or inside out until JJ or Will managed to catch him and put it right.

As JJ undressed and redressed Luke she said, "We're having breakfast for supper tonight Sweetie. Do you want some eggs?"

"No Mommy."

"Are you sure. I'll make the eggs scrambled but still runny so you can dip your toast in them." JJ knew that this was Luke's absolute favourite. If he turned this down, she was sure that no other food would be able to entice him.

"No thank-you." Luke said and wrapped his arms around JJ's stomach, resting his head against her. JJ hugged him back. She kissed the top of his head and soothingly rubbed his back. She felt so bad for him.

"Okay bud. Do you want to come downstairs or stay in your room?"

"Stay"

"Do you want Mommy to stay with you?"

Luke nodded and JJ smiled softly. "Okay babe. I'll be right back then." JJ grabbed Luke's cup to fill it with more juice. If he wouldn't eat, she could at least sneak some vitamins into him. Entering the kitchen, JJ found Will, Henry and Julia sitting around the table, eating.

"No luck?" Will asked, seeing JJ enter without Luke.

"His fever spiked again. It's up to 104. He's breaking out in cold sweats and he keeps saying he's cold so he must be getting fever chills. I think we'll have to consider juice a victory rather than food."

"Damn," Will said, shaking his head.

"I'm gonna go sit with him." JJ replied as she screwed the lid back on the cup.

"Do you want me to?" Willa asked, "I'm just about finished eating, that way you could have some dinner."

"Nah, I'm not hungry." JJ answered, looking at the food and actually feeling slightly nauseous at the sight. Will gave her a questioning look and she added, "Really, I'm not hungry at all."

"Okay" Will shrugged, and as JJ left the room, she heard Julia exclaim,

"And then!..." JJ laughed, realizing that she must have interrupted one of Jules' stories, and the act of remaining quiet while her parents talked had been greatly frustrating to her daughter.

JJ handed the cup to Luke as she climbed onto his bed and lay beside him, propping herself against the headboard. Luke snuggled into her side. JJ grabbed a book from the large pile beside the bed and began to read. Luke listened quietly as JJ read. She paused occasionally to coax him to drink a little juice, but otherwise they focused completely on the stories. One hour and 9 books later, the medicine had kicked in. Luke was feeling cooler to the touch, his chills had subsided and he had JJ pull off his sweatshirt. He lay asleep, snuggled into JJ's side as she absentmindedly played with his hair. JJ felt like she too might fall asleep. Her head felt heavy and she was very warm. She closed her eyes for a moment when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Will in front of her.

"Hey" she greeted sleepily. She looked past Will to the window and realized that it was quite dark out. "What time is it?"

"Almost 9" Will answered.

"I fell asleep." JJ replied, a hint of surprise in her voice, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Henry and Jules are in bed. I just came to see how you guys were doin'"

"He's been asleep for hours." JJ replied, easing herself from under Luke and rising off the bed. As she stood she felt another head rush hit her. She grabbed Will's arm to steady herself, and she shut her eyes until the rush subsided. When she opened her eyes she found Will looking at her with concern.

"Jayje…"

"I'm fine. Just a head rush. I stood up too fast."

Will pushed a piece of hair out of JJ's face and his fingers brushed against her skin. He noted that she was hot. "You're really warm, and Jayje you're pale."

JJ sighed, "Will, I can't be sick. Luke is sick."

Will chuckled, "I don't think that's how it works." Defeatedly, JJ leaned against Will, her forehead resting on his shoulder. With her body pressed against his, Will could feel how warm she really was. He put his arm around her. "C'mon" he said softly, leading her from Luke's room.

Back in their bedroom, JJ changed into pyjamas as Will hunted around in their bathroom for some cold medicine. JJ crawled into bed as Will exited the bathroom holding a bottle of pills and a glass of water. He handed them to JJ and sat down on his side of the bed. After downing the pills JJ said,

"I'm just gonna go to bed now."

"I think that's a good idea. I'll sleep on the couch. It won't do to have 2 sick parents."

JJ pushed herself up on her elbows. "No, Will, you don't have to do that."

"Nah, I made sure that couch was plenty comfy when we bought it for those times when I'm bad."

JJ scoffed. She and Will had been together now for 8 years. Never once had she made him sleep on the couch. Even when they were fighting, she was perfectly fine with staying on her side of the bed and not speaking to him.

"Will, really, you shouldn't have to sleep down there. I could - "

But Will cut her off, "Jayje, you're sick. You are not sleeping on a couch."

"I could just sleep with Luke. He's already sick and - "

"His bed is too small. You should be comfortable, with your own things, in your own bed. I'll be fine on the couch."

JJ was torn between knowing he was right – that if both of them got sick it would not be good, and the fact that what she really wanted right now was to curl up into his side so that she could fall asleep. As usual, Will seemed to be able to read her mind. He slipped under the covers and leaned against the headboard. He wrapped an arm around her. "I'll stay for a bit."

JJ rested her head against his side and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

**I hope you made it to the end. Thanks for reading **


	4. Chapter 4

Will was woken by a little hand touching his shoulder. He opened his eyes to find the concerned face of his daughter looming over him.

"Are you and Mommy fighting?" Julia asked seriously.

"What?" Will asked, an edge of surprise in his voice as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Are you and Mommy fighting?" Julia repeated

"Why would you think that Jules?" Will asked. He had never slept on the couch during a fight and he was baffled at how Julia would have come to this conclusion on her own.

"Lila at day care says that when her Mommy and Daddy fight, her Daddy sleeps on the couch. Are you and Mommy fighting?" Julia asked again, her voice anxious.

"No Ladybug, we're not fighting. Mommy isn't feeling good. She caught what Luke has. I didn't want to get sick too so I slept down here."

"Good" Julia said breaking out into a smile, a smile that Will returned. "Is today Saturday?" Julia asked, climbing onto the couch to sit with her dad. Will laughed. Both Luke and Julia asked this every day. They hadn't yet grasped to concept of how long a week was, but they did know that Saturdays meant that they would be home with Mommy and Daddy all day and eagerly anticipated them.

"It is Saturday."

"I love Saturday!" Julia exclaimed.

"I know you do Ladybug, but Mommy and Luke are sick and they're sleeping, so we have to keep it down okay?"

"Okay Daddy. Is Henry sick too or can he play today?"

"Henry's fine. It's just gonna be the three of us today."

"Can I go get him?"

Will glanced at the clock on the DVD player. It was just after 7am. "How about we let Henry sleep for a while longer?" Will suggested.

"Can we watch cartoons?" Julia tried again. "It's Saturday."

Will smiled. JJ's rule was no TV in the morning except for Saturday. She didn't mind if they watched a bit when they came home from school or day care, but she didn't want them to spend all of their time in front of a television set, so this was the system she had implemented. Will stuck to the system 99% of the time, but the kids did know that every once in a while, when Mom was away, they could convince Dad to let them watch a little extra.

"Sure." He turned on the television and flipped it to a children's channel. He smiled at the image on the screen. "Hey, I think I know him." He said, gesturing to the TV.

"That's Scooby Doo!" Julia exclaimed, pointing. As the show progressed, Julia continued to explain everything to Will. Julia never just watched television, she had a need to talk the entire time. It drove her brothers insane, but Will didn't mind. He liked that at least she wasn't just mindlessly staring at the screen, but was somewhat engaged. After Scooby-Doo, The Bernstein Bears came on. Given that Will was fairly certain they owned every Scooby-Doo movie ever made, he hadn't needed Julia's running commentary to keep up. However as he was much less familiar with The Bernstein Bears, he found himself actually paying attention to the background Julia provided.

Around 8:30, Henry sleepily made his way into the living room and climbed onto the couch with Will and Julia.

"Mornin' Chum" Will greeted.

"Morning" Henry mumbled as his glassy stare met the television. Will chuckled to himself.

Half an hour later Julia said, "Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Well then it must be breakfast time. What should we have for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" Julia answered excitedly, and Will had to agree, given that they had had bacon and eggs for dinner last night.

"Sound good Henry?" Will asked

"Sure" Henry replied, not looking away from the television.

"Can I help make them?" Julia asked earnestly. Will paused - normally he loved his daughter's enthusiasm and it didn't matter that she was an incredibly noisy cook. This morning however, when JJ and Luke were sick and sleeping, he would prefer to keep her out of the kitchen. The flip side to keeping her out of the kitchen though, was to leave her with Henry while he watched cartoons. Given Julia's proclivity to talk during a program and Henry's grumpiness when he first woke up, Will could almost guarantee a fight – and that wouldn't be quiet either. Coming up with a solution Will replied,

"Actually, I thought we could go out for breakfast this morning. That way, you guys can get whatever you want, and we can let Luke and Mommy sleep."

"Okay!" Julia cried excitedly, bouncing off the couch.

"Sound good Henry?" Will asked.

"Yeah, cool." Henry answered smiling.

"Okay, can you both go get dressed then?" Will asked and both kids left the room, Henry at a walk and Julia practically at a sprint.

"Jules," Will called quietly after her, she stopped and turned around, "Slow down." Julia heaved an exaggerated sigh and slowed her pace. Will followed them upstairs.

Will quickly checked in on Luke and found that he was still sleeping. Softly running his hand over Luke's forehead Will found that his son was still very warm. Taking the ear thermometer that JJ had left in the room the night before, Will found that Luke was running a fever of 102.9, which was down from last night but still high. Grabbing medicine and filling Luke's cup with water in the bathroom, Will returned and gently woke his son.

Luke's eyes fluttered open before he quickly scrunched them closed again.

"Hey buddy," Will said.

Luke replied with a grumpy noise in the back of his throat and rolled over, hiding his face against Will's leg.

"You can go back to sleep Luke, I just need you to take a little medicine first. It'll make you feel a lot better." Luke shook his head against Will's leg. "You can't go back to sleep until you take some." Will replied simply. Luke's shaking head stilled against Will's leg. After a moment, in which Will silently and patiently waited for Luke to accept his fate, Luke sat up and dejectedly looked to the medicine in his father's hand. "Thank you," Will replied, giving Luke the medicine and passing him the water. Will ran a hand over his son's hair before moving to tuck him back in, but Luke outstretched his arms and looked expectantly to Will. Will picked him up out of his bed and quietly carried him down the hall and into his and JJ's bedroom. Opening the door, Will found that JJ was still sound asleep. He put one finger to his lips to indicate that Luke needed to be quiet, but as Luke rested his head on Will's shoulder Will knew that they weren't in danger of any sudden bursts of energy. Will sat on the bed beside JJ and Luke settled more comfortably in his dad's lap. Will ran a gentle hand up and down JJ's arm until her eyes slowly opened and she took in the sight before her.

"Hey guys." She smiled sleepily.

"How're you feelin'?"

"I'm fine. How's he?"

"He's okay. 102.9 and we just took some more medicine. Now how do you really feel?"

"I'm okay, really." Will's look told her that he was utterly unconvinced and she relented, "Tired and stiff, kind of like a truck hit me." She said stretching her neck.

"You're probably still running a fever then. I'll get you some more medicine." Will eased Luke off of his lap, who immediately crawled across the bed to JJ and slipped under the covers with her. Will returned with pills and a glass of water. Sitting on the bed he said, "I thought Henry, Jules and I would go out for breakfast this morning. That way we can keep you two in quarantine and it'll be nice and quiet all morning. You can rest up and get better."

"Sounds good to me." JJ smiled as Luke snuggled into her side and looked like he was about to fall back to sleep. Will smiled. He had known the only way to keep JJ in bed all day would be to put Luke in with her. JJ was a mom first and sick second, and she would want to take care of her son more than she would want to take care of herself.

"Do you want something to eat? I can make you something before we leave."

"I'm really not hungry."

"You didn't have supper last night though, and he hasn't eaten since breakfast yesterday."

"Yeah, you do need to eat." JJ mumbled looking at Luke. "How about some oatmeal? He likes the peaches and cream kind. I can probably get him to eat that."

"Okay." Will agreed. He left the room, went down to the kitchen and quickly fixed two bowls of instant oatmeal. He filled Luke's sippy cup with apple juice, poured orange juice for JJ and grabbed a couple bottles of water before returning to his bedroom. When he re-entered the room with the tray JJ smiled.

"You didn't have to get anything for me. I'm really not hungry."

"You need to eat just as much as he does." Will answered simply. "Besides, if you were tryin' to get him to eat and not eatin' yourself you know he'd call you out on it."

JJ laughed. "This is true." Will put the tray on the bedside table and then began getting dressed. Leaving JJ and Luke in bed, Will left the room and was ready to head out. He found Henry, back in the living room, watching cartoons.

"Where's Jules?"

"I don't know. In her room probably."

Will sighed and headed back up the stairs. He pushed open the door to his daughter's room and the sight that met him frightened him to no end. Julia was standing in front of her closet, a pile of clothes beside her.

"I don't know what to wear." She said upon hearing him enter. Will shook his head. His daughter was 3, he was terrified what she was going to be like with regards to clothes in 10 or 15 years. Will crouched beside her.

"Pants or a dress?" He asked.

Julia thought carefully for a moment. "Dress."

"Okay" Will replied, turning to the hanging portion of her closet. Thanks to her Aunt Penelope, Julia had more dresses than any 3 year old should. "Pink?" Will asked, noting the predominant colour.

"No…" Julia paused, thinking seriously, "Blue."

"Okay." Thankfully Julia only had 3 blue dresses and Will pulled both down so that she could look at them. Julia chose a navy corduroy dress. Will grabbed her a white long sleeved shirt and white tights to go with it and Julia decided she was pleased with this selection. As Jules finished dressing, Will went back to his bedroom to tell JJ that they were leaving now. He pushed open the door and found JJ reading to Luke. JJ loved picture books and so you could find a stack of them in pretty much every room in their house.

"We're heading out." Will said from the doorway.

JJ looked up and nodded. "Okay."

"We need to have another chat with Penelope about the clothing situation."

JJ laughed. "You do it this time."

Will shook his head. "I'm afraid she's creating a monster. Can you imagine what Jules is going to be like when she's 15?"

JJ laughed again, "God, Will, I'm sick. Don't make it worse."

Will chuckled. "I'd better get going. There's probably going to be an issue about what coat and shoes to wear too."

"You're a wise man Mr. LaMontagne"

Will laughed. "Bye."

Downstairs Will was pleased to find that Julia had already made up her mind about her coat and shoes and had selected a hat. Henry was standing at the door ready to go as well. Will loaded them into the car, and they left for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

At their favourite diner Will lead the kids to a booth at the back. A cheerful waitress brought them menus. Will read the children's breakfasts aloud to Julia while Henry declared that he was fine to do it himself. Henry had really taken to reading when it was introduced in kindergarten. He had come home very excited about the idea one day and had never let up. JJ loved picture books and their home was full of them – you could find a stack in every room in the house. JJ and Will had already been reading to the kids every night and when Henry was 4 he had become actively involved in the process. Two years later Henry rarely stumbled upon a word he couldn't handle and Will beamed with pride every time he displayed this skill.

"So there's the farm yard breakfast," Will said to Julia, "That's eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes."

Julia shook her head. "We had that for supper last night Daddy."

"You're right, we did." Will smiled and tapped her nose.

Julia giggled. "Can I have pancakes please?"

"Of course you can." Will said. "What kind of pancakes would you like? They have chocolate chip – er, no, Mommy wouldn't like those. But they have cherry pancakes, banana pancakes, blueberry pancakes – how about blueberry pancakes Ladybug? You love blueberries." Will made an attempt to get Julia to try something new that he knew would be in vain. For whatever reason, Julia refused to eat food that was not plain. Will thought it had to be the most bland and boring diet in the world.

"No Daddy. I just want normal pancakes please."

"Are you sure Jules? You'll really like the blueberry ones."

"I'll like the plain ones better." She replied simply.

"Okay well I'm gonna get the blueberry pancakes and I want you to try a bite okay?"

Julia shrugged, "Okay." She replied, and Will knew that she would try it. She'd probably even like it. But she'd still order the plain pancakes again next time.

"Daddy can I have the peanut butter and banana waffles?" Henry asked, finally finished reading the children's menu.

"Sure bud." Will signalled to the waitress to let her know that they were ready to order. Henry placed his own order of waffles and orange juice while Will ordered for himself and Julia. While an outgoing, happy ball of energy at home or around members of their BAU family, Julia became shy and quiet around strangers. Luke was the same way, and since Henry had never behaved that way in the slightest, it was something new for JJ and Will to tackle.

As they waited for their food to arrive Henry asked, "Daddy, is Mom sick too?"

Will nodded. "Your mama's feeling really rotten, so we have to be extra nice to her and be quiet to let her rest when we're home. We want her to get better."

"Did she get sick from Luke?" Henry asked.

"Probably." Will agreed.

"Luke made Mommy sick?" Julia asked.

"Yep. When you're sick, you have bad germs in your body. They can jump from you to someone who's not sick and make that person sick too. You don't do it on purpose, it just happens." Julia nodded her understanding and Will looked over to make sure that henry understood as well. Instead of understanding on his face though, Will saw Henry looking very concerned. "What's wrong Henry?"

Henry looked grave. "Daddy my class is going to the aquarium when we get back to school on Monday."

Will failed to see the problem. Henry loved fish, he loved everything under water. Every chance Henry had to choose a movie he either selected Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid, and he had done so since he was 3. Will had seen both of those movies more times than every other dvd in their collection combined. Henry and Hotch and Hailey's son Nathan, Henry's best friend, had been talking about this field trip non-stop for weeks. "I know Champ. It's gonna be awesome."

"What if Luke and Mommy make me sick and I can't go!"

Will would have laughed at how absolutely horror struck Henry's face was had his son not been taking the matter so seriously. Instead he nodded. "That would be bad. What do you think we should do to make sure you don't get sick?"

Henry looked pensive for a moment. "I think I should stay away from Mom and Luke."

Will nodded again. "That's smart Henry."

"I think Nathan and I should stick together and make sure we both don't get sick."

"Oh you do, do you?" Will asked, a slight smirk playing at his lips. He could sense a ploy for Henry to be able to send the day with his best friend.

Henry nodded seriously. "Jules was Ben at day care yesterday?" he asked his sister.

Julia had been colouring on her placemat and not paying their conversation any attention, but when Henry spoke she looked up her picture for a moment. "Mmhmm" she nodded happily before returning to her colouring.

"Dad, the germs, they could go from Luke to Ben to Nathan!" Ben, Hotch and Hailey's youngest was the same age as Julia and Luke.

"So you wanna see if you can spend the day at Nathan's, is that it?" Will asked and Henry nodded. Will thought about it for a moment and realized it wasn't a bad idea. It would be much easier to keep Julia entertained and quiet so that JJ and Luke could rest if it were just the two of them. Plus there would be no chance for Henry and Julia to fight this way. "All right." Will consented. "I'll call and you can ask Aunt Hailey."

"Now?" Henry asked eagerly.

"No, after breakfast Champ. It's still pretty early."

"Okay," Henry sighed.

The food arrived and the 3 of them ate contentedly for a while before Will said, "Okay Ladybug. You said you'd try some of your Daddy's pancakes." He cut her off a piece that had just a little syrup – just the way she liked it. Obediently, Julia leaned forward and took the bite off of Will's fork. She chewed and swallowed and Will looked at her expectantly.

"It's good Daddy." She shrugged.

"But you liked yours better." Will said with a slight shake of his head. Julia nodded. "Okay Julia, thank-you for trying." Julia went back to her pancakes.

When Henry had finished his waffles he stared at the food remaining on his sister's plate, knowing his dad would not call the Hotchners until everyone had finished their breakfast. Julia was oblivious to Henry's scrutiny and continued to take tiny little bites. When Julia finally dropped her fork and declared she had finished Henry looked excitedly to Will. "Just let me pay, okay Henry." Will chuckled. As they exited the diner Will pulled out his cell phone. Hailey answered on the 3rd ring.

"Hello,"

"Hi Hailey."

"Will, hi. How's Luke? Aaron said JJ had to take him home yesterday." Hailey asked, concerned for her godson.

"He's still sick, JJ's come down with it as well."

"Oh no, that's awful."

Will agreed. "Hailey, Henry would like to ask you something." Will continued.

"Oh, okay," Hailey smiled. Will passed Henry the phone.

"Hi Aunt Hailey."

"Hi Henry"

"Luke is sick" Henry stated.

"I heard," Hailey replied seriously.

"And we're going to the aquarium when we go back to school."

"Yes you are." Hailey agreed.

"So can I come to your house to make sure I don't get sick? Because I really want to go to the aquarium."

Hailey laughed. "Of course you can Henry."

Henry beamed, "Thank you Aunt Hailey!"

"You're welcome Honey. Can you give your dad back the phone?"

Henry passed Will the phone. "Hello,"

"That's fine Will, he can come over any time, we're all up."

"Thanks Hailey." Will turned to Henry. "You want to go now Champ?" Henry nodded excitedly. "'kay, twenty minutes?" Will asked Hailey.

"Sounds perfect."

'Okay, thanks again Hailey."

"No problem. You know he's always welcome here."

While Will dropped Henry off, JJ was watching their other son sleep and quite frankly, she was relieved he had gone back to sleep. Getting him to eat his oatmeal had been a mission and a half. Luke was usually a good eater, but this morning he had been cranky and decided he would not be eating anything. Henry and Julia were both like Will and were very easy going, but Luke had inherited JJ's stubbornness. Once he made up his mind, he was woe to change it. It had taken JJ an exhausting amount of pleading and explaining how he would not get better if he did not eat to get Luke to consent to take even a mouthful. After one bite he had looked at her seriously and said, "Are you sick too?"

"Yes Luke, Mommy's sick too."

Luke looked to the second bowl of oatmeal that Will had brought for JJ, the one that she had no intention of eating and said, "You have to eat too!"

JJ sighed. Will was good. He'd known that he would never convince her to eat, but that Luke would only eat if she ate too, and of course she'd be willing to force some food down for the well being of their son. "Okay, I'll eat too."

In the end, JJ had decided that half a bowl each was enough. Now, as Luke slept and JJ ran her fingers through his hair, she knew that the fact that his stubbornness had returned was a good sign that Luke was on the mend. The rhythmic rise and fall of Luke's breathing against her chest was incredibly relaxing and before she knew it, JJ had fallen back asleep as well.

When Will and Julia returned home Will quickly checked in on Luke and JJ. He found them both sound asleep. Quietly, he cleared away their breakfast dishes and tucked JJ in properly before leaving the room. Will and Julia spent the morning finger painting, and though Julia got more paint on herself and Will than on the actual paper, they both had an excellent time. Julia's giggle was infectious and Will found himself laughing right along with her. They had a lunch of macaroni and cheese while still covered in paint. Will figured it made no sense to give Julia a bath before she had a chance to get cheese all over herself as well. When Will had finished his lunch he began to tidy the kitchen, while Julia, ever the slow eater, continued to pick away at her mac and cheese. When they'd both finished, they headed upstairs to the bath tub. Will brought the paper with him. Julia loved bath time in a way neither Henry nor Luke did, and he knew she would want to play in the tub for probably an hour. That was fine with him.

When Julia had been completely cleaned up and had been contentedly playing for over an hour, Will picked her up out of the tub. She rested her head on his shoulder. Not only was it time for her nap, but the warm water of the tub had made her sleepy. After she was redressed she cuddled into him.

"Where's Mommy?" she asked.

"In the bedroom, sleeping with Luke."

"Can we go see her?"

"We want her to rest and get better Ladybug, and we don't want you to get sick."

"But I miss Mommy."

"You saw Mommy yesterday." Will reasoned, but Julia gave him such a sad look that he caved and consented. Julia was about to fall asleep anyways and would not be a disturbance. Quietly, he pushed open the door to the bedroom, Julia in his arms. JJ was reading a picture book to Luke.

"Hey," she greeted softly as they entered.

"Hey, you're up. How're you both feeling?"

"I feel better" Luke smiled.

JJ smiled as well, "Yeah I'm actually feeling a lot better as well. 24 hour thing I guess."

"That's good." Will nodded.

"Where's Henry?" JJ asked.

"He's at Hotch and Hailey's. He was afraid the two of you would make him sick and he wouldn't be able to go to the aquarium on Monday."

JJ gave a little laugh. "Wise boy. You're not afraid of getting sick?" JJ directed to her daughter. Julia shook her head.

"We missed Mommy." Will offered as he sat with Julia, beside JJ and Luke on the bed.

"Aw, Jules, I missed you too." JJ said, running a hand over her daughters hair. Julia's eyes were drooping as she smiled. Realizing it was nap time, JJ saw Luke's eyes beginning to get heavy as well. A few minutes of hushed and soothing words later, both kids had fallen asleep.

"You two sounded like you were having fun downstairs this morning. I could hear you laughing." JJ said quietly once they were sure the kids were out.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you?" Will asked.

"No, no. Don't be sorry." JJ said. "I was awake, and it was nice to hear." In all honesty, JJ couldn't think of a nicer sound to listen to than the laughter of her kids or partner. Will smiled in understanding and leaned back against the pillows. JJ rested her head on his shoulder. "Did you sleep okay last night?" she asked.

"Not bad. The couch isn't the bed but it could be a lot worse. Julia found me there this morning and wanted to know if we were fighting."

JJ looked up at him surprised. "Why would she think that?"

"One of her friends at day care told her that when mommies and daddies fight, the daddy sleeps on the couch."

"Lovely." JJ said sarcastically.

"Yeah." Will agreed.

JJ snuggled closer to Will. "I don't think we're contagious any more."

"Oh, you don't?" Will asked with a smirk.

JJ shook her head. "You should stay. You didn't get to sleep in your bed last night. You should get to enjoy it today."

"How about enjoying it tonight?" Will asked with a wink.

JJ laughed at him. "You worry about that later. Right now, just stay."

"Okay," Will consented. They lay in silence for a while before Will realized that JJ had drifted back to sleep. As he lay there with most of his sleeping family, Will gave a contented sigh and allowed himself to drift off as well and the 4 of them lay snuggled together on the bed.


End file.
